Diamond abrasive article



Patented Nov. 16, 1943 unrrao STATES PATENT OFFICE HenryR. Houchin's, Niagara Falls, N. Y., assignor to The Carborundum Company, Niagara. Falls,

N. Y., a corporation Delaware' No Drawing. Application February 2, 1939,

- S'erialNo.2 {1,231

reclaims. (01. 51-308) This invention relates to diamond abrasive articles including wheels and particularly'to ceramically bonded diamond abrasive articles and the manufacture thereof. 1

This invention has among its objects the provision of an abrasive article containing diamond abrasive which is economical to make and use and in which the diamond abrasive is'firmly bonded but so held as to permit rapid and efficient abrasion. I v

Diamond abrasives present certain problems in the manufacture of abrasive articles not encountered with'other abrasives;v Being harder than other known materials, theirpotential abrading life is longer; being much rnore expensive than other known abrasives, for the sake of economy, they must be utilized to the best advantage and consequently must bes'o used as to take advantage of their long potential fabrading life. It is evident, therefore, that any bond that'can advantageously be used for the bonding of diamond abrasive must hold the diamond particles in place until they have becomedulled'by use. Accomplishing this, however, is difllcult' because thesurfaces of the diamond particles are not readily wettable and, in general, firm bonding is obtained only by wetting or reaction. v

Ceramic'bonds, and in particular glass bonds, may be used in accordance with the present invention as a solution to the difilculty mentioned above although proper precautionmust be taken to prevent the oxidation or graphltization ofothe diamond abrasive at the relativelyv high temperatures necessary for maturation of thesejbo nds;

I have found that glasses which have a low viscosity when molten and are very hard when solidified can be used in ainounts up to to as bonds for diamond abrasive providing that a sufficient amount of filler or auxiliary abrasive material is present to react, at least partially, with the molten glass during maturation and mechanically hold or retainthe diamonds within the skeletal structure thus formed. The low'viscosity of the molten glass assists in wetting the abrasive particles and increases the ease with which the molten glass may flow into the crevices between the solid particles, while the hardness of the glass when solidified ensures strong bonding of the abrasive particles and imparts wear resistance to the article.

:In carrying out my invention, according to one modification, I provide a mixture containing:

Example Iv Per cent Diamond abrasive to 220 mesh, inclusive) 40 Fused alumina (400 mesh) 40 Powdered glass 20 The above example is, of course, only one of many possible examples and is subject to considerable modification. Thus, the proportion and grit size of the diamond abrasive may be changed depending upon the use for which the article being made is designed; and the filler or secondary abrasive may be, instead of fused alumina, such materials as calcined bauxite, hard-burned porcelain gr'og, levigated alumina, and the like. The filler or secondary abrasive may also vary in grit size from that specified above although ingeneral it will be found advisable to use a secondary abrasive or filler, the particles of which are at least as' small as those of the diamond abrasive. The filler or secondary abrasive may also be used in varying proportions. As will be noted the fillers suggested :above are to some extent re-' active with fused glass. Such fillers during maturing, by reacting with the glass bond, form a skeletal structure which surrounds and holds the diamond abrasive. The powdered glass referred toin the above example may be one of, those hereinafter mentioned, or other glass having similar suitable properties and should be finely enough ground to permit uniform mixing with the other ingredients of the mixture.

Another example of a mixture which is adapted to produce good glass-bonded diamond abrasive articles, such as grinding wheels, contains:

Example II Per cent Diamonds (80 to mesh) 10 Fused alumina (200 mesh) 70 Powdered glass 20 In this example also, modifications such as mentioned above in connection with Example I may be made.

In forming abrasive articles from mixtures such as those set forth in Examples I and II, a small quantity, for example 3% of the weightof the dry mixtura'of dextrin or other suitable tem- .orary binder, is added and thoroughly distributed throughout the mixture. The mixture is then wetted with a plasticizing liquid, such as water, and molded by any of the well-known ways, such as Dressing, tamping and the like.

The molded articles, after drying, are burned at. a temperature of approximately 600 C. in an oxidizing atmosphere for the purpose of removing all carbonizable material before the glass bond is fused. Following the removal of the carbonizable material, the articles are subjected to the higher temperature necessary to fuse the glass bond and cause it to flow around the solid particles of abrasive and fillei. This burning or maturing must be performed without deleteriously affecting the diamonds and I accomplish this by burning the articles in a reducing or in a, nonoxidizing atmosphere.

Another type glass composition which may be used is obtaiacd by the use oi a frit which has an analysis approximately as follows:

Example V Per cent' S: 70 B203 N820 10 as examples only and I do not intend that my invention shall be limited to the A reducing or non-oxidizing atmosphere may be provided in any of several ways, but I have found that a convenient way to produce satisfactory results is to place the articles in'a box, crucible, or

sagger of carbon and provide it with a carbon lid;

The atmosphere existing in such a container atthe high temperatures, used will be found sufficiently reducing or at least non-oxidizing to prevent graphitization or oxidation of the diamond particles.

The following are analyses of glasses suitable for use in carrying out the present invention:

Example III .N. REF-'2 aassaas SiOz From about '70 to about 80% B20;- From about 11 to about 20% NazO From about 3 to about 13% A1203 From about 2 to about 10% Other types of glasses also may be used, the following being analyses of glass bonds maturing at approximately 1000 C.:'

Example IV 'Per cent Per cent s10, so. 0 49. o 8.7 12.1 11. o 21. a 23. 4 13.1 a. 5 1.0

Suitable glass bonds of this type can be made within the following range of compositions:

S10; From about 45 to about 60% B203 From about 8 toabout 13% Na2O From about 10 to about 23% A1203 "About 1% K20 out 5% 2x10 -'..From about 10 to about 25% sion ofthe glass caused by the boric oxide results in the molten glass adhering better to the solid particles upon cooling and hence causes better bonding, I

I have mentioned above that up to. about 25% of glass may be ,used as a bond in making abrasive articles of the type described. If greater amounts than this are used the article is deformed because of the swelling or bloating effect of the gases given oil from the fused glass which gases are unable to escape. Besides causing deformation of the article, the evolved Bases cause an excessive vesicular structure which tends to weaken the article and todestroy its uniformity of structure.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 170,860, filed October 25, 1937.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An abrasive article comprising diamond abrasive grain and a hard glass bond therefor, the glass bond being present in such an amount that swelling and bloating at its maturing temperature are substantially absent and having associated therewith a filler, in an amount substantially in excess of 10% and which reacts in part with said glass bond to form, upon maturing, a skeletal structure firmly holding the diamond abrasive.

2. An abrasive article containing abrasive grains comprising diamonds and a vitrified glass bond therefor containing, in combined form, approximately 70% to SiOz, approximately 11% to 20% B203, approximately 3% to 13% NaaO, and approximately 2% to 10% A1203, said bond being present in an amount such that the article has a porous type of structure and relatively hard characteristics.

3. An abrasive article containing abrasive grain comprising diamonds and about 25% of a vitrified glass bond therefor, having an analysis approximating SiOz 74%, B203 19%, M 4%, A120: 2%, other oxides 1%, said article having a porous type of structure and relatively hard characteristics.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a grinding wheel or other abrasive article comprising diamond granules bonded with a glass bond containing B20: which softens at a temperature of about 1250 C.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a grinding wheel or other abrasive article comprising diamond granules bonded with a ceramic bond including from 11 to not mor than 20% B103.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a grinding wheel or other abrasive article comprising diamond granules bonded with a ceramic bond including from about 11 to not more than 20% l B203 which bond softens sufficiently for bonding at a temperature of about 1250 C.

'I. An abrasive article as set forth in claim 1 in which the glass bond contains a substantial proportion of B203.

8. An abrasive article as set forth in claim 1 

